Something Golden
by sara-koi
Summary: Johnny is gone, as is Dally & Ponyboy doesn't seem to be the same. But when Soda is drafted into the Korean War & dies a few weeks after, Pony's world suddenly gets bleaker than ever. Will he ever be able to become the young man he was before? Ponyboy/OC


Title: Something Golden;; Part 01Ponyboy

**Disclaimer**: I do **not** own the copyrights to the book or movie _The Outsiders_; S.E. Hinton, Francis Coppola and Zoetrope Studios do.

S.E. Hinton also owns the characters as follows: Darrel Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, Ponyboy Curtis, Dallas Winston, Johnny Cade, Two-Bit (Keith) Matthews, Steve Randle, Tim Shepherd, and Curly Shepherd.

I just own Esther Lloyd, and her infectious smile.

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**Part One:** _The Telegram_

It looked like the world was crying. Large, fat raindrops hit the window as the wind howled and the gray sky got darker as it started to rain harder.

The world was crying in Ponyboy's mind. Crying over the sudden change in weather, the sudden pile up of homework and the deep hole in his heart from Soda being gone.

It only seems like yesterday since he was here, sitting in the kitchen, eating an overly large piece of chocolate cake and reading the comics in the paper. Darry would be standing at the counter, making a quick breakfast but still stealing a bit of icing from Soda.

It was when everyone was happy, happier than they'd all been in a long time. Well, they were happy until Soda got **the** letter.

The draft letter, calling him off to duty to serve in the American army to fight the Koreans. Darry didn't get called away because he was a guardian, and they needed him here to look after Ponyboy, and Pony couldn't go for obvious reasons.

The world stopped to them all.

The next few months passed in a blur, both boys trying to get used to the middle child being gone. Slowly they started to accept that everything was good and the world started to go back to the way it was minus one this time.

That was until a month and a half ago, when they'd gotten a telegram. And the bad news.

Soda was **dead**.

Gone forever, and the world seemed to stop again.

Darry had shut himself in his room, saying he had a migraine and wanted to lie down. Ponyboy didn't care, he just wanted to be alone too.

And he did, for almost a month.

It had been almost two months now since they'd gotten the news. Pony looked at his homework, but seeing nothing as the memeories of that day a month ago came flooding back like a torrent.

Sitting at the desk in now his room he laid with his head in his arms, his gray-green eyes red and bloodshot from the crying he'd just finished. He was all cried out now and started to rub his eyes with balled up fists when he heard a light rapping on the door.

"Pony, hey you okay?" Darry walked in, his normally tanned face a little paler, and a familiar red tinge to his icy eyes.

"Yeah," Ponyboy started.

A pregnant silence filled the small room until the youngest spoke up again, his voice cracking slightly as more tears made their way to his eyes. "Darry, what's going to happen now... now that—"

"I'm not sure little buddy," Darry interrupted his youngest brother. "I'm not sure at all."

"Oh..." Pony laid his head back in his arms and looked at his older brother.

"Pony," Darry started, unsure of his this news was going to affect the young teen. "I have something to tell you. "

Darry walked in and sat himself on the bed.

He didn't look right there. His long legs bent at the knees his back bent forwards as he rested one hand on Ponyboys' knee. He was too large for a small bed like that and every time he made the slightest move the bed creaked and groaned in complaint.

"Now, don't get mad but I've decided to leave Soda's body there." Darry looked Pony in the eyes as he said this and he swore he could see the boys' heart break. Soon his face went red and an angry glint appeared.

"Why!?" Ponyboy protested, knocking his brothers' hand off his leg and quickly standing up. So quickly in fact he sent the chair flying in the opposite direction. "You can't just leave him there to be buried in a place so, so **unfamiliar** to him and so far away from his family."

Darry sighed. He somehow knew this is what Ponyboy was going to say.

Sometimes the kid was too smart.

Darry sighed and ran his large hand through his dark hair. "It's too expensive to bring him back here. I'm sorry but there's really not much I can do. Also," He decided he was going to say this now, better to get it done and over with. "I'm going back to work Monday, same with you and school. We've wasted too much time being like this and it's not helping us any. Soda wouldn't want to see you taken off to the boys home just because of some reason like this."

Ponyboy couldn't believe what he'd heard. It hasn't been long enough. The pain of losing someone so close still felt so raw.

Besides, it hasn't been that long since they'd gotten the telegram. It's only been...

... three weeks.

A full month has passed since it happened. A full month passed by and Ponyboy remembered none of it.

"Okay." The sullen teen boy said and pickled up the fallen chair. Sitting back down he laid his head back on his arms and looked into the darkness of the desk. He heard Darry leave the room and nothing more until tomorrow.

Monday morning came and passed as a blur to Ponyboy. He didn't remember much of his school day except for the copious amount of homework his teachers had piled on him. None of it would be done by when they wanted it to be, but he didn't think they cared all that much when it was handed in anyway.

He continued walking home, in the sky a large cloud covered the sun and the ground seemed colder and harder than it had ever been before. He kicked a stone with the toe of his converse and re-jumbled the books in his arms so he wouldn't drop anything. He was nearing his house now, and for that he was quite glad because the mess in his arms was starting to get quite heavy and his muscles shrieked in pain at the sudden usage.

He could now see the tip of his front porch, the metallic gate and the slightly overgrown grass of the front yard, and all the other familiarities he'd grown up with. As he got closer though, something out of place caught his eye.

A small, dog-eared suitcase and a small pair of black shoes sat neatly on the porch, pushed up against the wall so no one would trip over them.

"Who's here?" Pony thought aloud, and unknowingly sped up his pace so he could get inside faster.

Practically leaping up the steps Ponyboy rushed in, and in his quest to find out who is in their home he basically knocked down said person.

Books and papers fell and flew as he snatched his hand out and grabbed the thin arm of the unknown guest. Once he knew they wouldn't fall he lifted them to a standing position and looked the person over.

A girl, maybe around his age if not a bit younger, stood there. Her long brown hair was parted on a slant and a few bangs hid her light eyes. Pale peach skin was bare except for a light peppering of freckles that made there way over her cheekbones and nose and slowly, as his eyes wandered down, he noticed how peculiarly she was dressed.

A semi-loose white and green stripped shirt was on her upper body, and at the hem of the shirt which stopped slightly past her hips an almost skin tight pair of black pants wrapped around her skinny legs and stopped just below her ankles where her small bare feet were.

His eyes began to wander up again and as soon as they made eye contact a large smile came to her face, instantly brightening up her eyes.

"Hello," She held out her hand, and as he gripped hers in a friendly handshake he noticed how thin her fingers were. "My name is Esther, you must be Ponyboy."

Slowly he nodded, and the more he looked at her smile the more infectious it became because before he knew it he was smiling just as widely too.

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**Authors Note**: Re-written and hopefully better than before. As normal reviews are greatly appreciated and make me write faster. Flames disintegrate before I get a chance to read them so they're just a waste of time.

And as you all know, constructive criticism is my all time favourite so I'll post part two after I get one (1) piece of something constructive.

Ciao my lovelies, and don't forget to hit that little review button at the bottom.


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